The US government is monitoring and permanently storing information on regular mail, in a vast and previously secret program known as the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT) program.

According to an article in the New York Times on Thursday, images captured from over 160 billion pieces of mail per year are fed into a massive database, from which the government can construct in depth profiles of individuals, tracking their personal and political connections.

The MICT program parallels the National Security Agency spy programs revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. While these programs store phone records and collect email and other Internet activity, the MICT gathers this information on all mail senders, without any individualized suspicion of criminal activity. While a warrant is technically necessary to inspect the actual contents of the mail, in 2007 President George Bush authorized law enforcement to open mail without a warrant in exceptional cases.

The Bolivian government is planning a formal protest to the United Nations over the illegal actions of European countries in forcing the plane of President Evo Morales to make an emergency landing in Austria on Tuesday. The aircraft was brought down on suspicion that National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board: here.

In a moving open letter published this week, Edward Snowden’s father, Lon Snowden, paid tribute to his son’s courage and determination in exposing the National Security Agency’s massive and illegal spying operation on the American people and the people of the world: here.

Latin America’s progressive leaders rallied in support of Bolivian President Evo Morales on Thursday night and demanded France, Italy, Portugal and Spain apologise for refusing to let him fly through their airspace: here.